public squarehttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/taxonomy/term/2294/all
enReconsidering the secular - projecthttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/SecularismReligion
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<h1 class="title">Reconsidering the secular - project</h1>
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<div class="field-item"><p>An ongoing research, reporting and action project with a number of overlapping elements, including cooperation with academic and civic bodies. The aim is to work in conversation with others towards the development of an inclusive vision of secularity in the public square - one based on dialogue and free expression; a proper distinction between religious and public authorities; and maintaining a fair civic arena for the widest range of public actors, both religious and non-religious. <em>[Fully revised January 2010; next revision due May 2011.]</em></p>
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<div class="field-item"><a href="/user/33" title="View user profile.">Ekklesia Staff</a></div>
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<div class="field-item"><p>Secularism has been variously defined as 'promoting neutrality/fairness in the public square', 'separating governance from religion', 'managing a society of diverse beliefs', 'a regime of religious regulation', 'opposition to religious or spiritual influences' and 'eliminating religion from politics and society'. The first three are what could be described as 'pluralist' conceptions, the latter three 'eliminative'. </p>
<p>Yet self-proclaimed proponents and opponents of secularity are often unclear about the distinction between these competing meanings, their relation to different claims about post/secularization (the shift from primarily associational faith-based societies to technical post- or a-religious ones), and the possibility of new horizons and approaches. </p>
<p>It is our conviction that conscious attempts are needed to engage thinking people of both non-religious and varying religious persuasions in considering models of secular/religious life which may be received as an invitation rather than a threat, as plural rather than monolithic, as inclusive rather than exclusive, and which move from 'thin' to 'thick' descriptions of "the good" as part of a rigorous but respectful conversation between different traditions of reasoning. </p>
<p>At present there is a grave danger that these issues are being mired in simplistic media arguments and "the politics of competitive grievance" on all sides. Dogmatic campaigning groups are both deepening and exploiting disagreements. </p>
<p>There is therefore a growing need to take the debate about the role of beliefs (religious and non-religious) within 'secular life' in a positive, practical and more nuanced direction. This should include a solid theological / philosophical / sociological input, and a re-examination of the place of distinctive 'communities of conviction' within the wider public sphere.</p>
<p><em>Ekklesia is currently engaged cooperatively with others in</em>:</p>
<p>(1) the development of a broad-based examination of <strong>different models of secularity and religious engagement for a diverse society</strong><br />
(2) discussion papers on <strong>open religion/ secularity, and critical and appreciative theological appraisals of the secular</strong> within the Christian tradition (see <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/6557">Rethinking religion in an open society</a>, 2008 and <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/10040">Christianity versus 'the church of power'</a>, 2009)<br />
(3) continuing support for, and participation in, academic research on <strong>reappraising secularist ideas and institutional arrangements</strong> in Western Europe (AHCR/ESCRC Religion and society workshops; Religion and Secularism Network, Religion &amp; Society Seminar at Oxford University’s Department of Politics and International Relations Public Policy Unit, etc.)<br />
(4) speaking and writing engagements concerned with the <strong>changing location and role of faith</strong> in relation to governance and public services (Equalities and Human Rights Commission, All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group, Canterbury and District Inter-Faith Action, Leicester Secular Society, Fabian Society, etc.)<br />
(5) The redrafting and re-issue of <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/oldsite/content/article_060724redeeming.shtml">Redeeming Religion in the Public Square</a> (Simon Barrow, Ekklesia, July 2006), which elaborates on issues raised by Jonathan Bartley's <a href="http://shop.ekklesia.co.uk/christian-bookshop/faith_and_politics_after_christendom_96610.html">Faith and Politics After Christendom</a> (Paternoster, 2006).<br />
(6) Exchanges with humanist and secular societies, inter-faith networks, and church organisations about common/divergent concerns in this area.</p>
<p><em>Latest related articles:</em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/10999">US faith and secular leaders issue joint statement on law and religion</a> (13 January 2010); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/10964">Standing up for freedom of dress</a> - Symon Hill (9 January 2009); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/10860">New UK research shows significant decline in institutional Christianity</a> (17 December 2009); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/10691">Faith schools and community cohesion</a> (Simon Barrow, 26 November 2009); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/research/thought_for_the_day">The 'Thought for the Day' debate</a> (research, Lizzie Clifford, 6 November 2009); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/10537">BBC urged by Lords to take humanism and non-belief seriously</a> (5 November 2009); 'How churches can be part of the solution' - section three of <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/research/independent_politics">The state of independents: alternative politics</a> (research - Simon Barrow, 4 June 2009 ); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/8492">Contrasting church attitudes on human rights</a> (research - Savitri Hensman, 1 November 2009); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/10442">Faith's relationship to power</a> (18 October 2009); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/research/independent_evidence_faith_schools">Databank of independent evidence on faith school</a>s (research - 22 September 2009); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/8700">Religion, belief and non-discrimination</a> (research paper, February 2009); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/9558">The Equality Bill and church responses to it</a> (research, Savitri Hensman, 1 May 2009); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/8761">Mixed picture emerges on British attitudes to religion in public life</a> (24 Feb 2009); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/8572">Europe does religion without the politics, suggests research</a> (6 February 2009); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/7838">Cold water, buses and shared humanity</a> (28 October 2008); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/7028">Reassessing Turkey's faith and secularism battle</a> (22 September 2008); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/6557">Rethinking religion in an open society</a> (Simon Barrow, February 2008); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/6217">Why does government want to court the churches?</a> (Jonathan Bartley). </p>
<p><em>Related Ekklesia categories:</em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/tags/7059">Equality Bill</a>; <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/tags/1428">Pluralism</a>; <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/tags/666">Secularism</a>; <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/tags/219">Free speech</a>; <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/tags/436">Inter-faith</a>; <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/tags/1111">Atheism</a>; <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/tags/4181">Tolerance</a>; <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/6217">Secular</a>; <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/tags/103">Christendom</a> and <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/tags/104">post-Christendom</a> (news and analysis); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/tags/4038">Health chaplaincy</a> (religious and non-religious); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/tags/348">Human rights </a>(news and analysis); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/tags/1034">National Secular Society</a> (NSS); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/tags/1121">British Humanist Association</a> (BHA); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/tags/1111">atheism</a> (and responses); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/tags/2356">humanist</a>.</p>
<p><em>Background from Ekklesia</em>: </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/6301">Open secularism meets open religion</a> (speech by Simon Barrow at the Royal Society of Arts), <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/research/070201">Facing up to fundamentalism</a> (research paper, SB), <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/research/010107discrourse">A new discourse on race and faith politics</a> (statement of New Generation Network), <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/research/papers/0607barrow">Redeeming Religion in the Public Square</a> (research paper, SB), <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/research/faithandpoliticsafterchristendom">Faith and Politics After Christendom</a> (book, Jonathan Bartley), <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/research/251005relhatred">Rethinking hate speech, blasphemy and free expression</a> (policy paper, SB), <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/research/060604nationstate">Toward the abolition of the nation state?</a> (Richard Franklin, with Sarum College), <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/article_050929godandthepoliticians.shtml">God and the politicians</a> (response paper, SB). Ekklesia and <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/about/faqs/18">the 'secularism versus religion' argument</a>, The <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/5949">Religion and Secularism Network</a> (November 2007).</p>
<p><em>Other bodies / resources:</em></p>
<p><a href="http://blogs.ssrc.org/tif/">The Immanent Frame: secularism, religion and the public sphere</a>; <a href="http://issr30con.gceis.net/">International Society for the Sociology of Religion</a>; <a href="http://www.thesecularismnetwork.org/Joomla_1/">Religion and Secularism Network</a>; <a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/TAYSEC.html"><em>A Secular Age</em></a> - Charles Taylor; <a href="http://www.trincoll.edu/secularisminstitute/">Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture</a> (ISSSC); <a href="http://www.esrc.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/about/CI/CP/societynow/issue3/God.aspx"><em>God in a Secular Society</em></a> (ESRC); <a href="http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/rdbook/2151/what_the_danish_cartoon_controversy_tells_us_about_religion%2C_the_secular%2C_and_the_limits_of_the_law"><em>Is Critique Secular? Blasphemy, Injury, and Free Speech</em></a> - Talal Asad, Wendy Brown, Judith Butler, and Saba Mahmood; Wardman Wire - <a href="http://www.mattwardman.com/blog/category/ethics-religion/humanism-secularism/">Secularism</a>; <a href="http://www.joelgarver.com/writ/revi/milbank.htm"><em>Deconstructing the secular</em></a> - Garver on Milbank; <a href="http://www.iheu.org/">International Humanist and Humanist Union</a> (IHEU); <a href="http://oproject.wordpress.com/">O Project</a>; <a href="http://www.humanism.org.uk/home">British Humanist Association</a>; <a href="http://www.interfaith.org.uk/">Inter Faith Network</a>; <a href="http://www.secularism.org.uk/">National Secular Society</a>; <a href="http://www.religiondispatches.org/">Religion Dispatches</a>; openDemocracy - <a href="http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&amp;rls=en&amp;q=opendemocracy+secularism&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;oe=UTF-8">secularism</a>; <a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=secularization+theory&amp;hl=en&amp;safe=off&amp;client=safari&amp;rls=en&amp;um=1&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;oi=scholart">Secularization theory </a>(academic); <a href="http://www.accordcoalition.org.uk/">Accord Coalition</a> - reform of faith schools; <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/10821">Cutting Edge Consortium</a>; <a href="http://irenic.org.uk/">IRENIC</a> (Scotland); <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/tags/6866">Convention on Modern Liberty</a> (religion in society).</p>
<p><em>A helpful watchword:</em></p>
<p>“[If] people’s beliefs – secular or religious – make them belligerent, intolerant and unkind about other people’s [beliefs], they are not ‘skilful’. If, however, their convictions impel them to act compassionately and to honour the stranger, then they are good, helpful and sound.” - <em>Karen Armstrong</em></p>
<p><strong>Latest update: January 2010.</strong> (first published, 2007-07-16 01:49:5, updated four times)</p>
<p>To contribute, contact Ekklesia co-director Simon Barrow (simonDOTbarrowATekklesiaDOTcoDOTuk)</p>
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Beliefs and ValuesEqualityfaith and politicspublic squareReligionResearchsecularsecularismsecularizationFri, 15 Jan 2010 14:57:29 +0000Ekklesia Staff4860 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukSpecifying the "ekk^lesia"http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/5961
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<p><a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/5961" target="_blank">read more</a></p>Beliefs and ValuesEqualityassemblybiblicalChurchdeirdre goodEkklesiaNew Testamentpublic squareBlogFri, 19 Oct 2007 09:14:03 +0000Simon Barrow5961 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukCrying 'discrimination' harms churches messagehttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/4869
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<h1 class="title">Crying &#039;discrimination&#039; harms churches message</h1>
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<div class="field-item"><p>Christian claims of discrimination are negative, fail to put across the gospel message of equality, and are based on mixed and questionable evidence, says Ekklesia</p>
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<div class="field-item"><p><strong>London, UK - Monday 19 March 2007:</strong> The UK Christian think-tank Ekklesia has said that “retreating into a persecution mentality” is unhelpful – and harms the churches’ message. The comment came in response to a new BBC survey which shows that up to a third of UK Christians feel they are discriminated against in public life because of their faith.</p>
<p>Ekklesia’s Jonathan Bartley, whose 2006 book <a href="http://shop.ekklesia.co.uk/christian-bookshop/faith_and_politics_after_christendom_96610.html">Faith and Politics After Christendom</a> first warned of a “negative” response among sections of the church to their gradual loss of official status, commented: “Some Christians do feel discriminated against, but Christians are also privileged – with 26 bishops in the house of Lords, an established church, tax breaks and blasphemy laws protecting them, for example.” </p>
<p>He added: “Others will point out that Christians discriminate themselves. Many state-funded schools run by churches are selecting on the basis of people's faith. Churches have claimed opt-outs from equalities legislation. And their treatment of lesbian and gay people is seen as bigoted by many, inside and outside the churches.”</p>
<p>Bartley said that in a global context where minorities were under attack, and in the UK where some Muslims and Jews in the UK faced attacks and desecration of their cemeteries, talk of “persecution” by some Christian groups was inappropriate.</p>
<p>He appeared on BBC1’s Heaven and Earth Show (18 March 2007), which commissioned the survey.</p>
<p>“The reason a sizable minority of Christians, especially more conservative ones, are feeling ‘got at’ is because the historic privilege and influence of the churches is being eroded in the public sphere” added Ekklesia co-director Simon Barrow.</p>
<p>“But this demonstrates how easy it has been, during the era of Christendom, for Christians to mistake their own power for the gospel message – which involves Jesus embodying God’s special concern for those at the margins, not demanding special treatment for religion,” he said.</p>
<p>Ekklesia argues that loss of automatic privileges, the challenges of pluralism in public life, and the criticism churches face over discrimination in schools and services is “a historic opportunity for them to recover a vision of the Christian message as rooted in justice and equality. Self-interest and trying to grab power back is an unhelpful response – a counter-witness, even.”</p>
<p>The think-tank has also warned about the dangers of "the politics of competitive grievance", where Christians, secularists, Muslims and others try to out-do each other with claims of discrimination, rather than finding positive ways of working together.</p>
<p><em>Additional information for editors</em>:</p>
<p>1. Ekklesia was founded in 2002 and has been listed by The Independent newspaper among 20 influential British think-tanks. It promotes transformative theological ideas in public life and explores the role of religion in society. It is not formally linked to any Christian body or denomination, but draws on a wide range of expertise.</p>
<p>2. Media Enquiries – t: +44 (0)20 8769 8163; e: <span id="919301b5c518c9ff00d1a59ebc883be5"></span>
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Beliefs and ValuesbbcChristianschurchesdiscriminationheaven and earth showPress Releasespublic servicespublic squareMon, 19 Mar 2007 00:22:34 +0000Press Office4869 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukUK Christians urged to be positive not negative about loss of statushttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/4866
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<h1 class="title">UK Christians urged to be positive not negative about loss of status</h1>
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<p><a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/4866" target="_blank">read more</a></p>Beliefs and ValuesNews BriefbbcChristianschurchesCommentsdiscriminationheaven and earth showpublic squareservicesSun, 18 Mar 2007 11:24:20 +0000Simon Barrow4866 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukBBC survey says Christians feel they are discriminated againsthttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/4865
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<p>Up to a third of UK Christians feel they face discrimination and an MP urges them to ‘fight’. But a persecution mentality is a bad idea, others suggest. And Christians are also accused of discrimination in the public square.</p>
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<p>A new survey carried out by the BBC has revealed that 33 per cent of Christians in the UK think that the way they are portrayed in the media amounts to discrimination. And 25% said they also experienced discrimination from colleagues in the workplace when their faith was known or talked about.</p>
<p>The poll was carried out for the BBC’s Heaven and Earth programme, based on a representative sample of 604 people. Another 22% said they thought Christians faced discrimination in their local community. 19 per cent said they would be passed over for promotion. A third thought the media distorted Christian issues.</p>
<p>Matters like the British Airways prohibition on costume jewellery, which prevented an employee from wearing a cross, and suspicion towards Christian service organizations by funding bodies, were cited as examples.</p>
<p>Conservative MP Anne Widdecombe, an Anglican who became a Catholic, said: “It’s now entirely a matter for Christians whether we fight back or take it. My own belief is that we should stand together and fight this discrimination.” </p>
<p>But the UK Christian think-tank Ekklesia, which said that the findings confirmed the discoveries of its own research over the past four years, argued that “retreating into a persecution mentality” is bad for Christianity and bad for society.</p>
<p>“Christians are also privileged – for example there are 26 unelected bishops in the house of Lords, and a quarter of state-funded primary schools are run by churches selecting on the basis of people's faith”, said Ekklesia co-director Jonathan Bartley on The Heaven and Earth Show this morning. </p>
<p>He also said that when Muslims and Jews faced attacks and desecration of their cemeteries, talk of “persecution” needed to be put into context.</p>
<p>“The reason a sizable minority of Christians, especially more conservative ones, are feeling ‘got at’ is because the historic privilege and influence of the churches is being eroded in the public sphere” commented Ekklesia co-director Simon Barrow after the show.</p>
<p>“But this demonstrates how easy it has been, during the era of Christendom, for Christians to mistake their own power for the gospel message – which involves Jesus embodying God’s special concern for those at the margins, not demanding special treatment for religion” he added.</p>
<p>Ekklesia argues that loss of automatic privileges, the challenges of pluralism in public life, and the criticism churches face over discrimination in schools and services is “a historic opportunity for them to recover a vision of the Christian message as rooted in justice and equality. Self-interest and trying to grab power back is an unhelpful response - a counter-witness, even.”</p>
<p>The think-tank has also warned about the dangers of "the politics of competitive grievance", where Christians, secularists, Muslims and others try to out-do each others with claims of discrimination, rather than looking at how to work together.</p>
<p>A BBC researcher on the Heaven and Earth show team spoke to four other Christian agencies, which made similar claims to those demonstrated in their survey. A spokesperson for one charity in London said it was told to ‘de-Christianize’ if it had any chance of getting funding. Another was told it needed to take all mention of Christianity off its website; otherwise it was at risk of not receiving any money.</p>
<p>A Reading-based Christian homeless group also complained that it was no longer able to employ only Christians. However Ekklesia’s Jonathan Bartley said this was not discrimination, but equal opportunities which Christians, alongside others, were rightly expected to uphold when public money was involved.</p>
<p>And the Anglican Bishop of Bolton, David Gillett, responded: “Religion is big news these days, so people have become more conscious of faith issues. That means Christians are now finding decisions going against them in a more high-profile way. But it’s a case of those issues getting more attention, rather than there being more discrimination.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile former PR guru Lynne Franks told the BBC's Heaven and Earth show that claims of discrimination against Christians, defended by outspoken Catholic journalist Joanna Bogle, were "off the mark". The National Secular Society's news monitoring service dubbed them "crackpot" and said Christians were "over-privileged".</p>
<p><em>Full Ekklesia press release</em>: <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/4869">Crying 'discrimination' harms churches' message</a>.</p>
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Beliefs and ValuesNews Briefbbc survey on discriminationChristiansdiscriminationdiscrimination againt christiansheaven and earth showpublic squareservicesUK NewsSun, 18 Mar 2007 10:40:42 +0000staff writers4865 at http://www.ekklesia.co.uk